All going fine for three miles and then bang! We are faced with a vast barbed wire fence bang across our path of a height The Donald himself would be proud of.
There are no warning signs, just sod off return to go with no £200.00. There is nothing to be done; we couldn’t even have spotted it on Google Earth. All we can do is curse and hope the local authority involved is infested with fleas! Or are we barred from such unwoke thoughts these days? We embark on a mile detour with as good a grace as we can muster.
A brief visit to Worcester cathedral. Truly awesome. Building it, and others, was of course what the young did in the 10-13 centuries . Today the young infest Apple, Microsoft and banking in the hope of making millions. Before, they built beautiful buildings. I know which I prefer.
Hot and muggy. On we plod and 30 miles or so under our belts.
Twain
It was Mark Twain who reminded us that there are two vital days in our lives: the first, the day we are born: the second, the day when we realise why we were born. This last realisation came to me only recently: I was born to treasure my wife, Jane, and provide some stability for my precious family and… to start ZANE.
This last has led to many thousands of pensioners being enabled to end their days surrounded by affection with sufficient wherewithal to allow them to survive in the vale of tears that is today’s Zimbabwe. Today, from eleven sites across the country, over six thousand children who the hideous affliction of clubfoot has afflicted are now able to dance for joy. Cholera treatment, rehabilitation after political violence, “pop-up “ schools, aid for prisoners and feeding programmes. Last, the creation of essential work for our many valued team members.
This all has been transformative. What an unexpected privilege for Jane and me to be at the heart of this essential work.
A Warm Welcome
I would like the following to be read to all potential immigrants when they arrive in the UK.
The UK offers you a warm welcome…
We would like to provide you with some important advice, which will enable you to integrate into our community.
You will appreciate that our culture and laws have been refined over many centuries of struggles, setbacks, trials and victories. Countless men and women have battled – often in blood – to win our precious freedoms, so please accept them as they are.
Please note that we speak English – not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Iranian, Indian, Russian or any other language. Therefore, if you would like to live here, please try to learn English.
The UK does not, and never will, recognise Sharia law.
Many people in the UK believe in a Christian God because Christian men and women founded this nation and based its laws on Christian principles. This is clearly documented and, as it forms part of our national DNA, it is entirely appropriate to display these sentiments on the walls of our schools. Our Christian God is an essential part of our tradition.
We promote sexual tolerance and gender equality in the UK. It is vital that you accept this.
As part of the process of integration, you must appreciate that neither you nor your faith or culture have any special rights or privileges. You and your religious leaders must learn to tolerate the same harsh mockery and criticism that our citizens have experienced for generations. Free speech is the bedrock of our democracy, and criticism and scorn from all quarters is aimed at our monarchy, the leaders of our institutions, our politicians and our faiths. We have no blasphemy laws and we do not propose to introduce any.
Please understand a crucial truth: free societies, where deep beliefs and feelings can be questioned or even mocked, are the only societies worth living in. You must be prepared to hear – and tolerate – things that you don’t want to hear, and to defend things you don’t want to defend.
Of course, we welcome you, and we will accept your beliefs and not question why. But please accept the country that has offered you safe harbour the way it is. This will allow you to live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.
Holy Osmosis
Wherever I go, be it to the theatre or a film, a restaurant or on transport, I am asked – as I’m sure you, dear reader, are – with a polite request for feedback. How do you rate the service or whatever it was?
The only place I’ve never been asked to pass judgement is in the wake of a church service. The service might have been excellent, or just mediocre; newcomers might have been warmly greeted or not; and the sermon might have been an inaudible ramble about climate change, refugees or foodbanks, or it might have been quite excellent. The point is that no one in the congregation is ever asked for an anonymous summary of their views.
Whenever I’ve raised this with my vicar friends, they look grey-faced an intimate they sort of know the views of their congregation – perhaps by a process of divine osmosis?
1 comment
Well done Tom. As a regular procedure in our church we discuss the Sunday sermon in small groups afterwards to ascertain its understanding & impact at a personal level. It should always be truly the Word of God delivered by his anointed preacher & absorbed by those who hear it – so it sticks.